2003 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)

Steve Kistler was quite excited about the quality of the 2005s, which he feels may be his best wines yet. But he described the 2003s as "rich and high in extract, with excellent structure. "Alcohol levels are in the mid-14s, which is about normal for this producer today. "We started harvesting on the late side, but the harvest took place during a fairly hot period and was more compact than usual," noted Kistler, who considers the 2003s to be a medium- to long-term ager by the standards of his wines. "In 2003 we have acids about as good as we've gotten to date, except for 2005," he told me, "but acids accompanied by thoroughly ripe fruit. "Kistler showed me a couple of very strong pinots at the end of our tasting. He feels he has turned the corner on pinot in 2002 and 2003, through a combination of slightly earlier picking and cooler fermentation temperatures. Still, he noted, whereas "we made red fruit pinots six or seven years ago," (wines he described as more Burgundian in character), "our clients expect to find black fruit flavors in our wines. "